Critical Reflection 4 by Ishan Pujari for CAIE AS Level Media Studies

1. AS Level Media studies
Critical Reflection 4
How did you integrate
technologies in this project?
Ishan Pujari

2. What is does software, hardware and online technologies mean in context of media?
In the context of media, software, hardware, and online technologies play a very important roles in the creation, distribution, and
consumption of media content. These elements shape each production process and influence the final product directly. Choosing
these factors according to the aim of the production helps filmmakers take decisions accordingly.
Software refers to the computer programs and applications that are used to create, edit, and manipulate media content. They are
the programs that are run on devices. Each software has a specific purpose. For example, video editing software such as Adobe
Premiere Pro or Final Cut Pro is used to edit their footage and create their final product.
Hardware refers to the physical equipment used to create, record. This can include cameras, microphones, computers, and storage
devices. For example, a filmmaker might use a high resolution digital camera to capture photos to produce the movie poster.
Online technologies refer to the digital platforms that are involved in the process of creation, production and consumption of media.
This can include the platform used to write scripts, log production shoots, communication channels and social media platforms such
as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Online platforms also include streaming services like Netflix and YouTube. Online technologies
have revolutionised the way media content is distributed, enabling us creators to reach a wider audience and giving consumers
more options for accessing and consuming media.
Together, software, hardware, and online technologies form an ecosystem that allows media content to be created,
distributed, and consumed in new and innovative ways.
~~~~ Paragraph 1 - Software ~~~~

3. What editing software did you choose to edit your film?
We decided to use Adobe Premiere Pro to edit our opening sequence. This video editing software is used by industry
professionals for video making. It’s powerful and comprehensive set of tools for editing and post-production made it the best
option for the requirements of this course.
Why did you choose this and what impact did it
have on your final production?
Adobe Premiere Pro offers a range of editing tools. Personally, the ability to adjust the workflow according to
your preference was something that attracted me. When I use a software, I want to have the complete control
over the processes that happen. I do not like being lost and flustered by a new interface. Adobe Premiere Pro
allowed me to choose which tabs and windows I want to see. I could arrange them according to their priority.
This made editing more enjoyable and efficient.

4. Which tools and technique did you learn to use?
In the editing process, I learnt how to:
Key frames
It is a point in a video clip
where a specific parameter or
property value for an effect,
transition or animation has
been set. For example, if you
want to have a text title fade
in and out over the course of a
clip, you would have to set a
key frame for the opacity
property. I learnt key framing
to gradually increase and
decrease audio levels.
Selective masking
This technique is
particularly useful when
you want to apply an effect
or colour correction to only
a specific area of the
footage, without affecting
the rest of the clip. I used
this for the smooth
transitions between the
different scenes in our
opening sequence.
Using Proxies
Video editing is a resource-
intensive process. Working
with high-resolution video
files causes the CPU and
RAM capacity to work at full
capacity. This causes lag
and stuttering during
playback. To avoid the RAM
overload, I started using
proxies to reduce lag.
Stabilizing
It’s an editing tool that aims to
reduce the shakiness and
instability of footage that was
shot with a handheld camera.
Even if your hands are
completely still, there is still
some amount of shakiness
can be seen in post-
production. Few of our shots
were shaky because of the
wind. I used stabilizers to
smoothen the video.

5. ~~~~ Paragraph 2 - Hardware ~~~~
What hardware did you use during your preliminary
tasks and final productions?
I used a variety of hardware during the production and post-production. During the shoot, I used:
Tripod
The tripod helped us to achieve stable shots. The camera was steady. It also
helped us maintain the same position and angle of shoot during the ending of
our opening sequence. The shots required the camera to be placed in the
same place and angle but the protagonist in variety of clothes to show that
it’s a different day.
DSLR
My DSLR was a Nikon D3500. It had photo and video shooting abilities. It shot
the scenes in 1080p resolution. The mic’s on the camera are not of great
quality so we avoided using them. Using my personal camera was an
advantage because we did not have to rely on school resources.
iPhone microphone
For the voiceover, we used our iPhone’s to record Aanya’s voice. We found a
quite room with no background interference. Our phone microphones were
quite capable at completing the task. We also used them to record footsteps,
classroom chatter and car sounds.
SD Card
Nowadays online storage systems are gaining popular, however this
technological revolution has not yet enabled DSLR’s to store files virtually. My
DSLR stored the files and recordings on a physical SD card. This storage
system had a reasonable read/write speed. I also used my SD card as a
backup for the files just in case I lost them from my laptop.
I use an Apple MacBook Air as my device. Unfortunately, it does not have the
necessary SD card port to import the files from the shot. To resolve this issue, I
bought a SD to USB-C converter which allowed my laptop too read the files on
the storage device.
SD to USB-C converter
During our preliminary tasks, I used a gimbal for the first time. A gimbal is a
handheld device that helps stabilize a camera, allowing for smooth and
steady footage. It works with a combination of motors and sensors which
counteract any movement or shaking. The results are a much smoother and
more professional-looking video.
Gimbal
LED lights
I also became familiar with LED lights with different color modes and levels of brightness which can be adjusted by the operator. I loved adjusting
the frequency of light emitted, it looked beautiful in a dark room. Although we did not use extra lights during our shoot, my knowledge of adjusting
lights helped when we were shooting in school. I adjusted my camera according to the ceiling lights in school.

6. Evaluate the use of hardware in
your final production
What went well?
Most of our shots were planned beforehand. This helped us stay
on track on the days of shoot. Our shot list reduced confusion
and guided us. I had cleaned my camera lens the day before to
clear out any dust particles from the camera lens. Cleaning the
lens gave us clean crispy shots. I also carried an extra battery in
case my DSLR runs out of charge & it did. The extra battery was
a useful investment for my team.
For the shots at school, the school media teachers were helpful.
The media team lent us the school tripod and stationary when
we were filming. The school allowed us to stay back after school
hours and film additional shots.
The shot of Nadine transitioning from the sidewalk of the road to
the school is something that went well. I made sure that the
DSLR was stable when taking it so it aligns and overlaps
perfectly.
What did you learn?
Over the production of the opening sequence, I became
better at understanding what equipment or hardware to
use when. It became clear to me what equipment would
be the best to achieve something. This came with
practice and recognition. Just like using the tools in a
Chemistry lab again and again helps build familiarity
with them, the same happened when I started using the
hardware more often.
I learnt a lot about how to operate a camera. Adjusting
the focus of a camera when the video is shooting is
something new, I learnt. In the end of the opening
sequence, when the protagonist removes the gun, I
changed the focus of the camera from the black bag to
the gun.

7. What do you still need to develop?
There is a lot of stuff that I could improve on in the future. The first one would be to use more lighting settings to
add depth and meaning to the visuals. I should also pay more attention towards the auto-focus settings on the
camera. Sometimes the camera went out of focus or tracked something else by mistake. Next time I’ll try to avoid
using Auto-focus.
I should have also used a gimbal for the sliding shot when the protagonist was eating breakfast. The shot is too
slow and wobbly. It took me a lot of effort to edit the shot in Premiere Pro. A gimble would have made the shot
smooth.
I also learnt that I should use my personal camera for shots that were in low-lighting conditions. The shot of the
protagonist waking up from sleep is an example of when my camera could not well in low-exposure. The shot
was grainy. I will try to either use better lighting or a better camera next time.

8. Paragraph 3 - Software
Blogger is a website that has been something I’ve worked
on very often in the past 6 months. Although the interface
and functionality of Blogger has not improved or
changed to the current level of industry standards, it still
provides a variety of tools which can be used to
customize the experience. Blogger allows a embedding
different kinds of multimedia on the editing page; this
allowed me to express my work through various forms
such as YouTube videos, PowerPoints, images and
Soundcloud podcasts.
Ishan Pujari
Film producer
Why did you choose this platform?
I initially chose Medium.com for my blogging platform
but within week I had understood that this website will
not give me 100% control of how the pages feel and look
like. Medium does not allow blog writers to customize
the looks of the page and organize blogs according to
categories. This was going to be an issue in the long run
because our teacher had told us that we will be doing a
lot of different modules with a range of tasks to build
our skills.
I chose blogger because it is the most used preferred
website by Media students. I did not want to risk my
efforts by using a website which is not commonly
accepted.
Blogger also has a lot of different pre-made themes
which one can apply to their blog. I immediately knew
that this is something that will help beautify my page.

9. What are the Pros and Cons of using blogger?
Pros ~
Free: One of the biggest advantages of
using Blogger is that it is free to use.
Easy to Use: Blogger is designed to be
easy to use
Customizable Templates: Blogger offers
a wide range of customizable templates
Cons ~
Limited Functionality: While Blogger is
easy to use, it also has limited
functionality compared to other blogging
platforms like WordPress.
Limited customization: The templates
offered are only customizable to a certain
degree.

10. Canva
Microsoft Teams
I used Canva a lot to make beautiful designs. Canva is an online graphic design platform. Its user-friendly
interface makes it easy to navigate and create. Canva provides templates and tools for designing visually
appealing and engaging presentations, documents, and posters. It’s a versatile platform that can be used
for creating a wide range of visual content.
This platform helped me organize my work into well designed documents. The content I had planned and
created was more organized and easier to find. Canva also has a collaborative approach towards
designing. I worked on a lot of collaborative documents used by my team for the opening sequence
planning. Example: The pitch of our opening sequence to our media class.
Microsoft Teams helped us to communicate. It is a cloud-based platform developed by Microsoft that
brings chat, video calling and file storage together. It is integrated in the Office 365 suite which our school
uses. We used this online service primarily to chat and discuss ideas with each other. We also used this
platform to send draft videos and exports of our opening sequence. We would watch them, and then
review.
What other
online software’s
have you used?
Throughout the course I used:
1. Canva
2. Microsoft Teams
3. YouTube
4. Celtx
5. MyFonts.com

11. YouTube
Celtx
MyFonts.com
To really understand what other CAIE Media students did for their opening sequence, we
used YouTube. The online streaming website has a huge content library full of videos
about different topics. We used YouTube to get an overall sense of what others students
did and what we should be doing next. We saw the different genre’s of films produced by
other students and used inspiration.
We also used Celtx, a script writing platform. This platform formats the text according to
the style of a movie script. This helped operate at a professional level.
I love fonts and typography. MyFonts was my go to website for font selection. My team
used this website to search for fonts that would suit the genre of our opening sequence.
The typography resources they provided were fee of cost.

12. Paragraph 4 – Integrating Technologies
Why did you choose this and what impact did it have
on your final production?
Increased capabilities ~ Integrating these technologies opened new vistas for
me to express my work.
Higher efficiency ~ Using online technologies streamlined my workflow and
made my work more efficient. I spent less time and effort in designing
documents and presentations from scratch because of Canva’s pre-made
templates
Explore new creative fields ~ I had never designed a logo before but after my
team worked on the production company logo, I started liking graphic design
more.

13. In the film industry, the technologies used are extremely advanced. This is possible because of the high
budgets allocated. Most of the movies produced in Hollywood cost about $100million to $200million
on average. My team did not have such a massive budget but that did not stop us from using
technology in the filming process.
Compared to the filmmakers if our level and expertise in the industry, our film follows the standards of
using a professional camera and a good editing software. Using professional equipment and software
levels up the playing field and sets you apart from others.
I follow a lot of YouTube filmmakers who too use a DSLR to record their footage. They also have short
tutorials to teach their editing skills. YouTubers like Kelly Wakasa and Keo Tsang are two filmmakers I
admire. They are experts at using Premiere Pro. Although Final Cut Pro is the most professional and
premium editing software, I haven’t really seen YouTube filmmakers use the software to produce films.
This is probably because of how expensive the software is.
How does your use of technologies compare to films
created in the industry?

14. Thank You!